Unravelling
by inee
Summary: Damon moves to Mystic Falls and meets the mysterious Elena. The closer he comes to unravelling her secret, the harder she tries to keep him safe from the danger he's getting himself into. AU human Damon, vampire Elena. Pairing D/E
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi everyone! I'm trying something different here, I hope you like it! **

**Important: This is AU! Elena is a vampire, Damon is human and attending high school. This may sound weird, but give it a shot? please?**

**Also, since Damon isn't over a hundred years old, I tried to make him a bit more like the human Damon we saw on the show and in the 'Stefan's Diaries' books. **

**This first chapter is kind of an introduction, so not much will happen in the first half, more interaction between the characters in next chapter :)**

_Disclaimer: I don't own the vampire diaries._

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><p><strong>Damon POV<strong>

Damon was lost. He couldn't believe he'd managed to lose his way in such a small town. Before it became his new home, he hadn't even heard from Mystic Falls. And no wonder, there was nothing to see. It had been ten o'clock when he'd left his house, and at that time, people usually got ready to go out, parties started, clubs opened their doors. Not in Mystic Falls. He'd passed by the Mystic Grill, but he'd left almost immediately to look for something he liked better. After walking around for an hour, he realized the Mystic Grill was the _only_ place to hang out.

And now he couldn't even find it! He cursed himself for thinking he'd found a shortcut, the narrow alley he'd figured would lead him to the town's square, had led him to a maze of little streets.

As if losing your sense of direction in an unfamiliar town wasn't bad enough, it now also started to drizzle.

"Great. Just… Great." He mumbled, pulling up the collar of his leather jacket. He wasn't dressed for cold weather, he hadn't planned on being outside. He cursed and he pushed his hands deeper in his pockets.

When he heard people talking, he hoped he was going the right way, and walked faster. Coming closer to the source of the voices, he realized they were arguing. He couldn't hear the exact words, but he could make out a girl's voice yelling at someone with a lower voice that sounded just as angry. He knew that if he rounded the corner, he would be able to see them, but he hesitated. Did he really want to get in the middle of that? He never planned on getting in the middle of something, but somehow it always happened. Someone had told him it was because of the always-present smirk on his face, and that people just wanted to hit him when they saw it.

Damon himself chalked it up to his chivalrous nature. When he got involved in a fight, it was always about a girl in trouble. He just defended her, and especially if it meant he could hit someone he didn't particularly like. Which was the case with about half of the people he knew. And he never lost.

But right now, he wasn't in the mood for such things, he'd come out to relax and have a good time. As he thought about turning around, he heard the girl gasp. And it wasn't a gasp in reaction to something the guy had said, he could hear that. It sounded as if she'd been…stabbed? He didn't know what she looked like, but he could already imagine her doubling over, clutching at her stomach.

He had to stop watching crime series.

It had become eerily quiet, and Damon silently stepped around the corner. At first he didn't see anything but the empty street lit by some streetlights, then he saw something move.

The girl he'd heard was sitting on her knees against the wall, her back straight and her face looking up at the sky. He approached her, trying to determine whether she was hurt. He stayed in the shadows of the houses and his steps didn't make any noise, so she didn't notice him, but she was sitting right in front of a streetlight, and he could see her face clearly as she held it angled up. Her breathing quickened and she seemed to brace herself for something, pressing her lips together. She brought her hands to her stomach, and his eyes grew wide as he saw her fingers close around something that seemed to be sticking out of her. The light had to be playing tricks on him, she couldn't really have something piercing her body, right? He remembered thinking about it only seconds ago, but really seeing it was a bit different. Shouldn't he call an ambulance?

Before he could do anything, the girl yanked at the thing in her hands, pulling it out of her stomach. He remembered learning in First-Help classes that you should never pull something out of someone's body, because a person would bleed even more. Clearly the girl had never attended any of those classes. She tossed the thing away before he could see what it was, but he saw that it resembled an ordinary branch.

He stepped away from the shadows, she would definitely need help now. She quickly turned her head to look at him, her eyes wide and her expression one of utter surprise. She pushed herself away from the wall and stood upright, her eyes holding his the whole time.

"Hey… Are you alright? You seemed to be having a… problem." Damon couldn't believe how stupid that sounded. A _problem_? She just pulled out something that pierced her stomach. How was it possible that she was still standing on her feet?

She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and casually straightened her clothes. He searched for the place where blood should be, but she zipped up her jacket and crossed her arms.

"You must've seen wrong. I'm fine, but I should be going now." She said kindly, but she made it clear that they wouldn't continue this conversation.

"Have a nice evening." She said with a small smile, and then she turned away.

Damon frowned. What was this? He'd only had one drink, and that had been at least two hours ago. Maybe he was just tired. He saw her walk away with quick, confident steps, she wouldn't be doing that if she'd been stabbed. He blinked a few times and looked around. He had been disoriented, too. Maybe he was getting sick. Well, he shouldn't be standing in the rain if that was the case. He turned around and tried to retrace his steps so he would find the centre of the town again.

*oOo*

The next morning, Damon opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. Was he feeling alright? He thought so. What happened the night before wouldn't leave his thoughts, but he didn't feel sick, so he got out of bed and took a shower. It would be his first day at Mystic Falls' high school, and he didn't look forward to it. Not that he'd ever had any problems at school, he was good-looking and not too stupid, so most students liked him and the others stayed away from him. He didn't think it would be any different this time. The only thing he dreaded was people asking for his 'story'. As if each student who arrived at a school in the middle of the year had an interesting history. They expected him to be thrown out of his previous schools, or be a broken boy who'd just lost his parents and needed to get away from his old life. And in fact there was nothing to tell. He lived with his uncle, who had to move a lot because of his job. If people asked _why_ he lived with his uncle, he ignored them.

Damon arrived at school early, he wanted to be able to look at ease, not frantically searching for the right room. He talked to some of the guys who were practising on the football field, and one of them pointed out the way to the right office.

At lunch, Damon met up with the same guys. They minded their own business and weren't overly helpful, he liked them. When most students had chosen a seat, Damon saw a group of girls enter the cafeteria. The one walking in the middle caught his attention and he frowned. He couldn't see her face, but the way she walked and the way her hair flowed down her shoulders... He saw her when she turned around, it was the girl he'd seen the night before. He remembered the way she'd looked up at the sky, her jaw set. The way she'd smiled at him, kind but detached.

He saw her eyes widen in surprise when they met his, her mouth opened slightly and then closed. She quickly looked away and sat down at a table faced away from him.

"Who's that?" He asked the rest of the guys, pointing at her with his chin.

"The blond one? That's Caroline."

"No, I mean the other one, brown hair." He hadn't even noticed the blonde, but he could understand why they would think he had.

"Oh, you mean Elena. She's okay." A guy named Tyler said. His answer surprised Damon. Normally, guys would comment on a girls looks, or her attitude if she was horrible. Of course, by 'okay', Tyler could've meant that she _looked_ okay, but it hadn't sounded like that.

"What do you mean, she's okay?"

"You know. Doesn't have that attitude most popular girls have. People like her." Tyler shrugged. Damon sensed that he wanted to say more, but that he thought the others would say he talked like a girl. Damon didn't think they would. They seemed to agree with Tyler, as they watched her with something similar to respect in their eyes. It gave him a weird feeling, so he just nodded and ate his lunch.

While sitting in the cafeteria, Damon began to think about what he'd seen the night before. The more he thought of it, the more sure he became of what he'd seen. He hadn't been sick, he hadn't seen wrong and the light hadn't been playing tricks on him. She'd lied to him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have reacted the way she had when she noticed him here.

When the girls got ready to leave, he did, too. He caught up with them in the hallway and Caroline smiled at him.

"Well, Hello! You must be Damon." She said brightly.

"And you're Caroline." He said, grinning. She'd looked like the prototype of a high school queen bee from afar, but he noticed that her smile was surprisingly real and she didn't pretend to be bubbly, she _was_ bubbly.

He turned to Elena. "I just wanted to make sure you're alright, I really don't think I was seeing things last night."

"I'm sorry?" Elena frowned.

"Is there something you need to tell me, Elena?" Caroline's eyebrows lifted and she gave Elena a playful push.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I would love to talk to you some other time. It was nice meeting you, Damon." She smiled politely, reaching out to shake his hand.

He shook hers, frowning.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Damon, but Elena's right. We need to get to cheerleading practice and we're already running late." Caroline grimaced at him and he nodded, too confused to answer.

As he saw the girls hurry down the corridor, he opened his hand to reveal a small piece of paper. Elena had pressed it into his palm while shaking his hand.

"_After School. Sport Supplies room. E." _

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><p><strong>AN: So, what did you think? What was good? What could be better? Do you like this idea and should I continue it? Please, let me know!<strong>

**thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it :).**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I don't really have anything to say. I hope you enjoy this chapter and leave me a comment after reading it :). Thanks for the reviews and the alerts, they made me very happy :).**

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I wish I did, though._

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><p><strong>Damon POV<strong>

Damon closed his fist around the strip of paper and made his way to his next class. He didn't know what to think about Elena. All he'd ever wanted to do was make sure she was alright, because she certainly hadn't looked alright the first time he'd seen her. He hoped she would explain everything after school, because he would find out anyway. He was too nosy for his own good, he knew that. If there was something he couldn't know about, he would do anything to find out what it was.

Damon didn't really pay attention during his last class, but that was nothing special. He slowly made his way to the football field, he figured that was where the sports supplies would be. Slowly, because he didn't want to arrive first. He would look like an idiot if she didn't show up.

She was already waiting for him when he crossed the field, leaning against the wall. She was still wearing her cheerleading outfit, and she was busy untangling her hair from a tight ponytail. The bodice she was wearing showed part of her stomach and Damon frowned at the unmarked skin. He would go crazy if he didn't get answers soon. She ran her fingers through her hair one last time and then looked up at him.

"Hi." she said, pushing herself away from the wall and coming to a stop right in front of him.

"I'm confused." He answered. He realized that wasn't much of a greeting, but she made it hard for him to focus on anything.

"I know. You have questions." She said. He didn't understand why she was looking so sad.

"Yes… but you don't…you don't _have_ to answer. I mean, I can…mind my own business." Damon had to force the words out of his mouth. For one, he couldn't mind his own business, and two, her eyes were locked on his, and they made it hard for him to think straight.

"No. I'll answer them for you." She said.

Her pupils seemed to become smaller and he couldn't stop himself from leaning closer. He nodded.

"You didn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary last night. The first time you saw me was today in the cafeteria." Her voice was low and hypnotising.

Damon frowned and took a step back. "Why are you saying this? If you don't want me talking about last night, I won't. I don't even know _what_ I saw last night! I thought you were going to explain." He frowned and backed away even further.

He saw her eyes grow wide in surprise, she staggered back. Then her gaze dropped and it fixed on his wrist.

"Nice bracelet." she said.

Her comment surprised him and he looked down at his wrist. He was wearing a leather wristlet, he never took it off.

"My mother gave it to me." He answered, confused.

She nodded.

"And don't worry about explaining. I won't mention it again." He said, already turning away.

"Thank you." Her voice was soft and she smiled thankfully at him.

"If you go out with me this Saturday." He finished, smirking. He headed back towards the parking lot without waiting for an answer.

"What? Why?" she was almost running to catch up with him.

"Why not? And besides, I need someone to show me around. Did you know that I got lost yesterday? I didn't see anyone who could help me. I was soaked when I got home!"

"Really?" She commented innocently.

"Yeah. Apparently that grill is the only place open after ten."

"So is that where you're taking me?" She looked up at him, a smile playing around her lips.

"So you want to go out with me?"

"I just don't want you to get lost again. Mystic Falls is an awfully big city, after all."

He rolled his eyes. "It was dark and wet. And I think I was getting sick, I was seeing things."

She looked away and her voice dropped. "You won't bring it up again." The way she sounded was almost scary.

"I won't! I won't, I promise." He held up his hands in apology and didn't speak again.

They reached the parking lot and Elena turned to him, taking a pen out of her bag.

"Let me know what time. I'll be ready." She said, her voice light again. She took his wrist and wrote her number down on the back of his hand.

"Okay." He said.

She headed towards her car and left the parking lot, waving at him. He only thought about waving back when she was around the corner. There was something about her, and he would figure out what it was. But that wasn't why he couldn't wait for it to be Saturday.

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><p><strong>Elena POV<strong>.

Elena got in her car and locked the doors automatically. What was she doing? Damon wasn't in any danger, she'd been a vampire for over a year now, but she shouldn't go out with him. What if he wanted more than one date? What if _she_ wanted more?

If he discovered her secret, it would end badly for him. Elena herself was a perfect example.

She drove home without thinking about the road. Instead she let her thoughts wander back to why she was turned, to make herself remember why she shouldn't let Damon get too close.

~oOo~

She'd met Stefan at the beginning of last school year. She never noticed anything strange about him, until he invited her over for dinner and she cut herself. It had been such a stupid accident, and it had revealed Stefan's secret. They went on dating, but their relationship never got very serious.

When Stefan drove her home one night, a van crashed into his car. Elena was unconscious, her head was bleeding and the car's crushed door had cut open her side. The van was damaged but drove away without stopping. Elena didn't really remember what happened next, she only knew what Stefan told her afterwards. He gave her his blood, and quite a lot of it, because he knew she wouldn't make it if he didn't. So she healed.

Later that night, she decided to go to bed early, she was still a bit dizzy. A backpack Jeremy had left lying around on the stairs was all it took. She tripped and fell, her head hitting the ground hard. She woke up an hour later, her head spinning and her eyes hurting. She was lucky Aunt Jenna liked to go out late, and Jeremy had stayed over at a friend. She called Stefan, she was too frightened to drive.

When Stefan arrived on her doorstep with blood bags in his car, she broke down. She cried while he poured some of the blood in a cup, she cried while she drank from it. She didn't want this life, but she wasn't ready to die. Who ever was? She wouldn't leave Jeremy without his sister after he lost his parents. So she turned.

She and Stefan broke up not long after that, and when he started drinking human blood again, she was glad that they'd put some distance between them. Elena herself drank from blood bags. She tried animals once in a while, and she found that she could probably keep to that diet, but she wouldn't let herself become a weak target for whoever wanted to attack her.

~oOo~

That reminded her again of Damon. How much had he seen? She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed his approach. She'd been able to push Stefan away when he tried to inject the vervain, but some of it had entered her veins and weakened her senses. He'd probably only seen her pull that stake out of her body, which was bad enough. She remembered him staring at her, his mouth open in horror, his hair wet against his face. He'd looked much younger than he did in the cafeteria. So she couldn't go out with him. Who knew what could happen? But she had to admit she'd liked it when he asked. His eyes had a strange pull on her, and his voice made her insides tingle. She'd been sure she'd never feel like this again. She'd never even _thought_ about feeling like this since she'd turned.

She'd felt so guilty about compelling him, even when it didn't work. It seemed as if she'd hurt him somehow, by saying that they'd never met, that he hadn't seen or heard anything the night before. It had left a bitter taste in her mouth, and she didn't know why. It hadn't been important at the time. He was wearing vervain! Did his mother already know about her? She would find out about that before leaving with him on Saturday.

~oOo~

Elena arrived at school early the next morning. The parking lot was practically empty and the halls were quiet. She sat down on a bench near the office and closed her eyes. She didn't intend to eavesdrop, but she heard one of the teachers say Damon's name and she concentrated on their conversation.

"How come he's living with his uncle?" A woman asked lightly.

"There's no official story, but I heard somewhere that his parents were murdered." Someone whispered.

It became quiet on the other side of the wall, the conversation had ended abruptly.

Elena wished she hadn't heard this. If she tried not to mention it, she would definitely say something wrong. She would just hope he would bring it up himself, but she knew that wasn't likely. The only good thing about this, was that his mother gave him the vervain as a precaution, and not because she knew about Elena.

The only time Elena saw Damon that day, was when he entered the cafeteria. He smiled at her, and she could've sworn he looked shy. When she smiled back, his eyes lit up and his smile widened. She liked this version of him, the boyish version. But she knew he was more than that. She noticed he never really talked to anyone unless he wanted to know something, he seemed to keep a distance between himself and the others. But that didn't mean he was shy. He'd had no trouble finding guys to hang out with, and when he and Caroline met, they'd talked casually without even knowing each other. Elena was curious as to how their date would go.

She checked her phone when she left school. One missed call. It had to be Stefan. She sighed and leaned against the wall, pressing her phone against her ear as she listened to her voicemail.

"Elena. I wish you'd pick up your phone. I want to apologize. For hurting you. It was wrong, and I don't know how it happened. It's just… I'm sorry, I really am. I just thought you should know that. I don't know what came over me, I swear I didn't intend to do that to you."

He wasn't done speaking yet, but he was repeating himself so Elena ended the message. She called back, he didn't answer so she left a voicemail in return.

"Stefan, hi. I heard your message, and you better meant what you said. It's okay. I know you're going through a rough patch right now, but don't get me involved, please. If you need help, ask Caroline. She's worried about you. Don't let yourself go, alright? Bye, Stefan."

She put her phone away and ran her fingers through her hair. She wouldn't think about Stefan anymore today. She would take a warm bath and go to bed early.

Tomorrow was Saturday.

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><p><strong>AN: SOoo, what did you think? Please leave me a review, it would be nice to have an idea of what is good and what could be better. It's hard for me to write without some honest opinions. So review and you get a cookie in return! (I won't always beg for reviews, I hope you don't mind it this time ;) )<strong>

**thank you so much for reading :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hi everyone! I'm going to France for ten days, so I won't be able to upload again until the end of the month. I hope you like this chapter! Thanks for the reviews, favorites and alerts!**

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries..._

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><p><strong>Damon POV<strong>

Damon's fingers hovered above the buttons of his phone. He was going to call Elena, and the thought alone gave him a weird feeling. It wasn't like him to be nervous, and he wondered whether it was a good or a bad thing. He'd gone on dates before, but this time, it seemed to be more important. He wanted her to like him. He didn't want it to end after this one date. Of course that was stupid, he'd talked to her only once, but he'd been mesmerized.

He told himself to man up and call her. He punched the right buttons, watching the numbers on the back of his hand.

"Hello?" She sounded distracted.

"Hi, Elena? It's Damon."

"Oh, right. When do I have to be ready?" Those first two words made his body go cold. They were layered with dread.

"You still want to go, right?" He asked hesitantly.

"Of course!"

"I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you then. Bye!"

Damon heard the call disconnect before he could say goodbye. He stared at the phone in his hands, not sure what to think.

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><p><strong>Elena POV<strong>

Elena ended the call and cursed under her breath. She must've sounded horrible. His timing couldn't have been worse. She looked up at Caroline, who was locking the door they'd just slammed shut.

"That's not how a girl should sound when a guy asks her out." Caroline said, shaking her head.

"I know." Elena said, her voice filled with guilt. "I'll try to explain tonight."

"Hey, are you sure you want to do this?" Caroline said softly, rubbing Elena's shoulder comfortingly. "You didn't sound very glad to hear from him."

"It wasn't because of him. I always told myself I wouldn't get too close to humans, because of what happened to me. I don't want to get him in trouble. And did you forget that we were locking Stefan up in that cellar when Damon called? I wasn't in the greatest of moods."

Caroline turned to look at the locked door. "I'm sorry for calling you. I probably could've handled him by myself, but I just wanted to make sure."

"Don't worry about it. You didn't tell me what happened, exactly."

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know what he did, but he showed up on my doorstep, chin covered with blood. He was acting weird again, changing from depressed to aggressive, you know what it's like. I tried to talk him into staying, but he would get all defensive and try to leave."

"I'm glad you called." Elena said, "He doesn't know what he's doing sometimes."

"I know, he told me that he hurt you. That made me ask you for help, actually."

Elena nodded. "Let's just leave him in there until he sobers up. Then start with the animal blood again."

Caroline sighed. "I'll take care of him. Now you need to go home and get ready for your date."

Elena smiled at the thought. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to get to know him a bit better. Even though he's human."

"You're absolutely right. Enjoy your evening and be extra nice, he deserves it." Caroline pulled Elena into a hug.

* * *

><p><strong>Damon POV<strong>

When Damon pulled up in front of Elena's house, he thought he was going to be sick. He'd replayed her words over and over in his head, and the only conclusion he could make was that she didn't want to go out with him at all.

When he saw her leave the house, he had to keep from gasping. She looked amazing. She was wearing a dark blue dress and her hair was pinned up, but that wasn't what caused him to stare at her. Her eyes were sparkling and she was smiling shyly at him. She actually looked happy to see him.

He quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out to open her door for her. He'd never done this before, but he couldn't imagine not doing it for her. He shut her door after she sat down gracefully and hurried back to the other side of the car. He sat down and wanted to start the car, but she softly placed her hand on his arm.

"Before we go, I just want to say that I'm sorry for the way I acted on the phone."

"It's okay. You know you didn't have to come if you didn't want to, right?" He asked, just to be sure.

"I know."

"Because you sounded like you didn't want to." He said quietly. He was overreacting, he knew that, but he couldn't get the way she'd sounded out of his head.

When she looked down at the floor of the car, biting her lip, he wished he hadn't said anything.

"I really do like you." She said softly.

That wasn't what he'd asked. He'd told her that he would keep quiet about what he'd seen if she went out with him, when he'd heard her on the phone, he'd thought she felt obligated to say yes. He realized that his thoughts didn't make sense, and he couldn't figure out what to say. Elena was looking out of the window, embarrassed. He wasn't used to this. He swallowed.

"Let me start over, let's pretend we didn't talk about this."

"Okay." He nodded. They needed to start over, definitely. They needed to forget this awkward conversation.

She turned to him and smiled brightly. "Thank you for taking me out tonight, Damon. That's very sweet of you. Before we go, I just want to apologize for that weird conversation we had on the phone." She rolled her eyes, as if to make clear that the phone call was one big misunderstanding. "I was helping Caroline deal with some problems, so I wasn't thinking about what I said. Are we good?"

Damon realized he was staring. It was as if she'd turned a switch. The shy, quiet girl that had entered his car had changed into a confident, charming one. He found himself again and grinned at her.

"Very smooth." He commented "Let's go." He started the car and tried to keep his eyes on the road.

They didn't talk much during the ride, and Damon guessed that they were both quite nervous. Elena seemed very collected, but she kept fumbling with the ribbons on her dress. She was looking out the window, so he switched between watching the road and watching her. If she was wearing make-up, he couldn't see it. He liked that. Her eyes were bright with excitement and her lips were turned up into a smile. She was beautiful.

There were a lot of people at the grill when they arrived, and Damon couldn't help but notice that everyone seemed to stare at them.

"Is it just me, or are they staring?" He mumbled, frowning.

"They're surprised. I don't usually go out." She shrugged.

Her answer surprised him. He was an exception? He smiled at the thought.

They sat down in a corner, at one of the last free tables. Thankfully, they were seated far from the bar, where players from a visiting football team were being annoyingly loud. When they'd gotten their drinks, they were done talking about the other students they'd seen while entering. Damon hadn't known most of them and Elena had filled him in.

"So tell me who _is_ important to you. Tell me about yourself." He said, when Elena told him there really wasn't anyone important to her at the Grill that evening.

She looked surprised at his question. "Well… um… There's Caroline, she a very good friend. I've known her all my life. You already know Matt and Tyler, Matt used to be my boyfriend, but now we're just good friends. Tyler can be a jerk sometimes, but he's a good guy." Her face lit up when she got talking, and Damon was glad to see her so open.

"Do you have brothers or sisters?" He asked.

"Is this an interview?" She laughed, but she seemed to like talking about her friends and family. "I have one younger brother, Jeremy. You?"

"Nope. I like being an only child." He couldn't imagine having to deal with younger siblings, ugh.

"Doesn't it get lonely?" Elena asked.

He shrugged. "I like being alone." It wasn't as if he had another option at home, his uncle was away most of the time, but while he could look for company at school, he mostly kept his distance.

"I guess I understand. I like to be by myself at times, so I'm glad Aunt Jenna gives us some space." She smiled.

"You live with your Aunt?" He asked, surprised.

"My parents died two years ago." She said softly.

"Oh." He didn't say 'I'm sorry." People had told him that all the time in the beginning, and it never changed anything.

She smiled understandingly at him. He supposed he should tell her about himself now, but he wasn't going to. He wouldn't even know what to say.

When they'd eaten their dinner, Elena stood up to use the bathroom. Damon waited for a few minutes, looking around the Grill. It had gotten calmer, most of the people were eating and the big groups had left. That's why he heard the voices in the direction of the hallway and the toilets. Something felt wrong, and he realized Elena should have been back already.

He made his way to the hallway, and he could hear some guys of the visiting football team laugh. When he opened the door, he found them surrounding Elena, sounding drunk. Elena was glaring at them, her arms crossed in front of her. He didn't think she'd seen him.

"Won't you come with us, honey?" One of the four guys asked, reaching out to pull at Elena's arm. She backed away from him, but bumped into the one standing behind her. He grabbed her shoulders.

"Let go!" She said. She sounded mostly angry, but fear flashed in her eyes.

Damon felt heath rush into his body. These were the kind of situations he always got in the middle of. He knew there wasn't going to be a fight, he could let someone throw them out of the Grill in an instant, but he felt his muscles tense.

"Let go of her." He said. The guys turned to look at him, a mocking smile on their face. When they saw _his _face, however, their eyebrows lifted.

"Hey man, we were just hoping she'd come to this party we're going to." One of them said, his hands slightly raising in defeat. "We're leaving." He added, and motioned for the others to follow him.

Damon smiled inwardly. He knew that when he got angry, people thought of him as dangerous. Elena was staring at him.

"You okay?" He asked.

She let out a deep breath. "Yes." She said calmly. "Let's go home."

* * *

><p><strong>Elena POV<strong>

While Damon paid for their food, Elena watched him closely. From what she'd seen just now, she could've sworn he was a vampire. He hadn't had fangs or veins under his eyes, but his face had shown such icy anger… She'd never seen a human look so dangerous, and he hadn't even done anything!

She'd been perfectly able to handle those guys herself, and they probably wouldn't have done anything anyway, but when she'd heard Damon enter the hallway, she'd had to act like a scared girl. She knew nothing had really happened, but seeing Damon like that had left her feeling weird. And somehow, it also made a warmth spread through her body. He wanted to protect her, and she knew she didn't need it at all, but she liked it.

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><p><strong>AN: What did you think? <em>Please<em> leave me a comment :) ! We're getting closer to Damon finding out, I promise! How do you think he'll react? Do you like the human Damon?**

**thank you for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hi everyone, I don't know why, but this was a hard chapter to write. It took me a bit longer than usual, and I'm sorry for that. Anyway, you'll learn a bit more about Damon's past, I hope you like that :).**

**Enjoy!**

(also: my sister is sort of my beta, and she's on a trip to Italy, so please tell me if you find any mistakes :) )

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><p><strong>Damon POV<strong>

It was dark outside when Damon and Elena left the Mystic Grill, and it had started to drizzle. Elena didn't seem to mind the cold, but Damon gave her his jacket anyway. He drove her home and they talked about the movie night the school had organized, he hadn't planned on going and realized he wouldn't miss anything when she said she wouldn't go either.

When they arrived at her house, he walked her to the porch. She paused before opening the door, and turned to him. She was standing so close, they were almost touching.

"I had a very nice evening." she said, smiling up at him. "Thank you."

He smiled.

"But I've been talking about myself all night, now I want to know something about _you_. You're being so mysterious, tell me one thing about yourself." Her eyes gleamed curiously.

"I think I'm falling in love with you." He said, and leaned down to kiss her.

She froze, and for a moment he thought she would push him away, but then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

It was a short kiss, but it left them both flushed and staring at each other.

"You barely know me." She said, commenting on what he'd said.

"I don't need to. You're wonderful." He didn't just say that, and he hoped she knew that he really meant what he said. It was more than just a compliment, it was the truth: she was one great miracle.

Her fingers intertwined with his and she kissed him again, softly. He knew this meant she wanted to take it slow, keep the kisses sweet and soft.

"Thank you." she said again, and then she turned to enter the house.

Damon watched her get inside, she waved shyly before closing the door.

_This had been his first kiss._

Had this been a good idea? Years ago, he'd told himself that he couldn't get close to anyone. And he'd followed his own rule, knowing that it was for the best. Why had he broken it with Elena? Why did she have to be so mesmerizing?

He caused everyone he loved pain, he knew that by now.

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><p>It had started with his parents, he'd been eleven at the time and no one had told him much, but since he was the one who'd found their bodies, he knew how bad it had been.<p>

He and his family lived in a small town, much like mystic falls, and a lot about the dead of his parents was kept a secret, even now he didn't know what exactly had happened.

People had been disappearing for some time, and his parents went to secret meetings with the sheriff and some other couples. He knew about that, because sometimes the meetings were held at his house. He wasn't allowed in the room, but he listened to one of their conversations once, his ear pressed against the door. They talked about demons, monsters and murder, scaring him so much he never asked them about it.

No one paid any attention to him after his parents died, everyone was too busy with stuff for which he was considered _too young_. He imagined them hunting down the monsters who had hurt his mom and dad, because he was sure it had been the demons he'd heard them talk about.

The only one who was there for him was his cousin, Aly. She was eighteen, and she lived next door with his aunt and uncle. They took him in when he was orphaned, but she was the only one who really cared for him. She held him when he missed his parents or when he had nightmares, and he considered her his sister. Until their home was attacked one night.

He was reading in his room, which was in the back of the house, when she yanked the door open.

"Get the sheriff, go through the window!" She said frantically, while opening the window. "Run, and don't come back until they tell you it's safe." She held his face in her hands and kissed his forehead.

He was confused, but he climbed out the window. "What's happening?" He asked, already backing away from the house.

"They're coming here! _Run_!" She yelled, and then she closed the window and ran out of the room.

He started to run, crossing a part of the woods to get to the town's centre faster. When he alerted the sheriff, everyone at the police station left in a hurry and he was told to stay in a room. Through the half open door, he saw deputies running down the hallway, carrying guns and weird looking knifes. He felt sick and threw up in the waste bin, somehow he knew that the same thing that had happened to his parents, was happening to Aly.

No one would answer the questions he had afterwards, they told him to never speak of it again. His home was burned down to the ground, and the only thing he had left was the leather bracelet his mom had given him.

They'd sent him to the last member of his family, his mother's brother. And that was when Damon had forbidden himself to love anyone. He'd been twelve, so his reasoning hadn't been very logical, but he'd never questioned his rule and still followed it.

He never thought about his past, it had all been shoved to the back of his mind, never to be brought up again.

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><p>He felt dizzy on the way home, still feeling Elena's lips on his, her arms around his neck. He greeted his uncle when he entered the house, surprised to even find him home, and then retreated to his room. He lay down on his bed with one of his favourite books, and read until he was too tired to keep his eyes open. Then he turned off the light and fell asleep.<p>

The next day, before school even started, he'd already been asked five times if he was dating Elena. Apparently, she really didn't go out, because their arrival at the Mystic Grill had been shocking to say the least. Elena wasn't at school and everyone asked him where she was, as if suddenly he was an expert on whatever she did. When Caroline approached him on his way to the cafeteria, he'd had enough of it and he started to walk faster to shake her off. She kept up with him easily, though, and stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Would you calm down? I didn't know you were allergic to people. It does make sense, though, you're always alone. I just thought it was to keep up your 'mysterious guy' image."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, I went to the Grill with Elena, no, I don't know why she's not at school. If that is what you wanted to know, you can leave now."

She snorted. "That's what you're so worked up about? People asking about Elena?"

He shrugged.

"Well, I'm here to talk about her, too. But I think you'll like what I have to say."

He lifted an eyebrow.

"She told me she had a great time last night, and she said many good things about you."

"She did?" He smiled a little.

Caroline looked at him sincerely. "Thank you for making her feel happy. She really needed that."

Damon nodded. He'd seen her face light up the night before and he'd come to the same conclusion. "Do you know where she is?"

"She and Jeremy had to accompany Jenna to a lawyer, something with papers about her parents." Caroline grimaced. "Oh, and you should take Elena to the movie night this Friday, I think she'd like that." She smiled and then turned to leave.

Damon watched her walk down the hall and thought about what she'd said. Maybe she was right, maybe he should ask her.

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><p>He did, when he called her later that day, and she sounded surprised but happy. The movie started at eight and he told her he'd pick her up at half.<p>

She was wearing a jeans and a soft white sweater when he picked her up, since they showed the movie outside on a big screen. He wondered whether he should kiss her again, he'd never really dated someone he actually wanted to be with and he didn't want to ruin it. He shouldn't have worried though, when she'd gotten into the car, she softly kissed him on the lips and laced her fingers through his.

When they reached the town's square, Damon was surprised by the amount of people that had shown up. Students had set up tables where you could buy drinks and food and the place was crowded. Caroline waved at them from behind the hot chocolate stand and some heads turned when people heard about their arrival.

"The movie won't start for a while, let's get away from the crowd for a second." Elena said, tugging at his arm.

Damon followed her to the edge of the square, where a pile of cushions and beanbags was leaning against a wall.

"I know we only just arrived, but… I felt like I was suffocating." Elena said.

"We can leave if you want to." He said, squeezing her hand.

"No." She shook her head. "It's fine." She smiled. "Can we just wait until they start the movie, grab some cushions and sit down?"

"Sure." Damon didn't mind waiting until everyone calmed down. Right now, people were pushing against each other, trying to get from one side of the square to the other. It seemed as if the entire school had shown up.

"Elena?" The voice came from behind them, and Damon turned to see who it was.

A guy he'd never seen before was frowning at him.

"Stefan." Elena said, moving to stand at Damon's side.

Damon didn't know Stefan, but it was clear that there was something weird going on between him and Elena.

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked, her eyes narrowing.

Stefan's gaze darted to Damon before he answered her. "Caroline invited me. She has already tricked me into buying four hot chocolates. I'd stay away from that table if I were you." He smiled a little, but he looked intently at Elena.

Damon felt Elena relax a little at his side. He somehow knew that he was missing a big part of the conversation, there seemed to be a hidden meaning behind Stefan's words.

Stefan glanced at Damon again, nervously, and then turned to Elena. "I didn't get to talk to you the last time I saw you, with the situation being… you know…" He glanced at Damon again.

"Do we really need to talk about this right now?" Elena said, sounding slightly annoyed. "This is Damon, we're dating." She added, placing her arm around him. Damon couldn't help but notice that she seemed almost… protective of him?

"I heard about that." Stefan nodded at Damon in greeting. "And you're right, we don't need to talk now. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, for what happened before. I thought I should say it in person instead of leaving a message on your phone."

Elena sighed, and something stirred inside of Damon.

"Just leave it, okay? Come on, Damon, let's go find a seat."

She pulled at his arm, but he couldn't make his legs move. He began to understand what this conversation was about, why Elena suddenly wanted to get away before Stefan could say more.

"Elena, is he the one who stabbed you that night?" He said, clenching his jaw.

"I thought you wouldn't bring that up again?" She hissed, pulling at him.

"Why did you hurt her?" Damon asked Stefan, who was frowning at them.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Stefan said.

"Don't give me that crap! I saw you that night!" Damon moved closer to Stefan, glaring at him.

"Damon, stop." Elena said urgently.

But he wasn't listening to her. The only thing he could think about was this moron hurting Elena. The image of her, on her knees in the rain, having to pull his weapon out of her own body, danced in front of his eyes and he moved even closer to Stefan.

His hands curled into fists, but he didn't get the chance to do anything. He was pulled back forcefully, his both hands pinned together by Elena's slender fingers.

"Leave. I'll call you." Elena said to Stefan. Damon watched Stefan nod and leave, but he couldn't concentrate on that. Not while Elena held his wrists together with one hand, and held him back by clutching his jacket with the other.

She looked down at his wrists and let go of them quickly, moving her hands behind her back.

He knew he was staring at her, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, looking down. From everything he'd seen just now, those words were the most confusing.

"For what?" He asked, automatically wrapping his arms around her to comfort her.

She shrugged, and he felt her tremble. He had no idea what was going on with her, but even though it was one big, confused mess inside his head, the last thing he wanted was her being unhappy.

"You know what? Something weird happened just now, and I'm not going to forget that, but let's take a beanbag and sit down. I'll let it go for now, and you can have some time to think and calm down, okay?" He was stroking her hair by now, because he could tell she'd become all worked up about something.

She nodded, and she followed him when he pulled a beanbag from the pile next to them and found a place for them to sit.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please tell me what you liked or hated, I'd love some feedback since I'm a bit uncertain about some parts of the chapter. thank you so much for reading!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Everyone who read or reviewed chapter 4, thank you so much! I'm already writing chapter 6, so you won't have to wait very long ;).**

_Disclaimer: I still don't own anything vampire diaries-related.. LJ Smith is the godess :)._

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><p><strong>Elena POV<strong>

If someone asked Elena what the movie was about, she wouldn't be able to answer. She didn't even know whether it was supposed to be a romance or an action movie. Her thoughts were somewhere else entirely. Damon continued to surprise her, and she was grateful for his patience. It gave her time to think, which she really needed. What was she supposed to tell him?

He was holding her now, his fingers playing with strands of her hair, but she knew he wouldn't keep waiting for an explanation. It seemed like the only right thing to do was just to tell him everything, but the thought alone made her stomach hurt. She had the awful feeling that the truth would change everything, that he wouldn't want to be with her anymore.

"You're supposed to relax." Damon whispered, and she noticed she'd tensed up in his arms.

"I'll try." she said, willing her muscles to loosen up.

"Is it because of that Stefan? I won't let him hurt you again."

"No, it's not Stefan. And he never meant to hurt me, really. He's just been having some problems, but I'll tell you everything later."

"Really?" He sounded surprised.

She nodded. "You deserve the truth, and by not telling you anything, I would just end up pushing you away."

He didn't say anything and she couldn't read the expression on his face. "What are you thinking?"

"That you keep getting more amazing. I never thought you'd choose me over your secret."

Elena thought that was a weird way of putting it. It sounded as if she considered keeping her secret more important than being with Damon, while she just wanted to keep him out of danger. It was too much to explain right now, and she decided to just let go of everything and focus on his arms around her. "Of course I choose you." She mumbled.

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><p><strong>Damon POV<strong>

Damon hated it when the movie ended, not because it had been a good movie – aliens ended up eating everyone but a boy and his dog – but because it had been the first time Elena had been entirely comfortable around him. She'd never been anything but kind to him, and he knew she cared about him, but somehow he'd always felt she kept a distance between them. Part of her had always been focused on what he called her 'secret', until this night. He supposed it was because she'd made up her mind about telling him, and she didn't have to worry anymore.

She was at ease now, leaning against him, and he was glad she'd calmed down after that weird conversation with Stefan. Damon didn't know why, but he thought that even if Stefan had never hurt Elena, he wouldn't get along with him. The guy just had something about him that Damon couldn't stand. But he'd deal with that later, now he just wanted to concentrate on being with Elena.

Around them, people were getting up. Caroline shouted something about the last bit of hot chocolate. Elena rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the floor.

"Let's help her clean up, she's been working all night." She gestured at Caroline.

"Why did she volunteer?" Damon asked. He liked Caroline, but didn't really understand her.

"Well, she likes organising and being in charge." Elena smiled. "But mostly she just likes talking to everyone. This is kind of a big deal for her, all the money goes to the decoration team of the Snow Dance."

"Let me guess, Caroline leads the decoration team, too." Damon said.

"I think she's charge of everything but the football team by now." Elena laughed.

"There you are!" Caroline said when she saw them. "Why didn't you come get some hot chocolate before the movie?"

"We ran into Stefan." Elena said.

Damon saw Caroline's eyes flick in his direction, then she glanced at Elena questioningly. Whatever Elena's secret was, Caroline definitely knew about it.

"Nothing happened." Elena said, then she changed the subject. "Do you need some help cleaning up?"

After they packed everything up and folded up the tables, Damon brought Elena home. She was quiet during the car ride, and he wanted to give her some time to think.

"About me explaining everything," Elena said when they arrived at her house. "Could we meet at the Grill tomorrow?" She bit her lip. "This is more than you think, Damon. Can I just have a night to work out what I'm going to say?"

"Sure, of course." Damon nodded. This just made him want to know even more, but he wouldn't push her. "When do you want me to pick you up?"

"I'll meet you there. Caroline asked me to come over."

"Okay. Then I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled.

She leaned over to kiss him. "Thank you for waiting." She said, and then got out of the car.

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><p>Damon arrived at the Grill too early the next day. They'd agreed to be there at nine thirty, and he had to wait for twenty minutes. He was too excited to sit down and wait, he'd been nervous all day. She'd said it was more than he thought it was, what was that supposed to mean? He didn't even <em>know<em> what he thought it was. At first, he'd been glad that she'd decided to tell him, but somehow he felt almost scared now, and he couldn't figure out why.

Outside, the sky was turning grey and it was getting darker. Damon suddenly needed to get out of the Grill. He needed fresh air.

When he got outside, the cool breeze did help. Unable to stand still yet, he wandered over to the back of the grill. There was a parking lot, two garages and a few trash cans, but he didn't see anyone. He recognized Matt's car, standing in the back because he arrived before the customers did, and Jeremy's bike leaned against a wall. Damon was about to turn back when he heard someone come from the back. When he turned around to see who it was, he was smacked against the back of the Grill.

A guy he'd never seen before was standing in front of him, pushing his shoulders hard against the wall.

"Who the hell are you?" Damon yelled, giving the guy a shove. He didn't move.

"Don't act all innocent! Why are you here?" The guy asked, and Damon could've sworn it sounded like a growl. The question surprised him.

"I'm meeting someone." He said automatically.

The guy shook him. "Not _here_. I mean in Mystic Falls!"

Damon had no idea what was going on. "I don't… I think you got the wrong person." He said, trying to move away. He usually didn't back away from a fight, but there was something wrong with this situation. Somehow he knew that he had to get away _fast_.

When the guy noticed him move to the side, he pushed Damon to the ground. "I know exactly who you are, _Damon_ _Salvatore_."

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><p><strong>Elena POV<strong>

When Caroline dropped her off at the Grill, Elena knew something was wrong. Something told her that Damon was getting himself into trouble, and her senses were searching for danger. She could hear faint traces of a conversation, and it wouldn't have caught her attention if she didn't recognize the voice. She couldn't remember when, but she'd heard that voice before, and it had sounded just as angry as it did now. It came from the back of the Grill, and Elena silently followed it. When she rounded the corner and saw who the voice belonged to, a wave of anger raged through her. It was Noah, a vampire she'd once seen fighting with Stefan. She'd been human back then, and she hadn't been able to help Stefan or give Noah what he deserved.

She saw Noah standing over someone who was doubled over on the ground. She knew it was Damon even before she heard him moan. She crept up behind Noah, trying her hardest not to make any noise. Noah didn't hear her coming, and kept up his monologue.

"What are you here for?" He snarled at Damon.

"I told you, I'm just…" Damon faltered. "God, your face!" He tried to crawl away from Noah, but didn't get very far.

Noah kicked him and lifted him by his elbow, bringing Damon's face to the same height as his. "Are you looking for revenge, boy? Trying to get Stefan's help?"

Elena was right behind them now and pushed Noah to the side, which made him drop Damon. She knelt down on him before he could get up and closed her hands around his throat.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked, squeezing her hands tighter. She glanced at Damon anxiously, he hadn't moved.

"Why don't you ask Stefan?" Noah gurgled beneath her. "Seems like you choose your boys all from one family." He said, trying to gesture at Damon with his chin. "What a shame." He winked.

She was too stunned to react to his last words. "They're family?" She asked incredulously. It had occurred to her, of course, but Stefan kept track of his human family, and hadn't recognized Damon at all. Her confusion made her grip on Noah's throat slacken and he managed to kick her away. In a second, he was standing over Damon again.

"He's here to cause trouble, and we won't have any of that." Noah yelled at her.

Elena looked around quickly, and saw the leg of a broken chair sticking out of one of the waste bins. She grabbed it and ran at Noah, who by now had lifted Damon's limp body. His eyes widened when he saw her coming, and he threw Damon against a garage so he could use his hands to defend himself. He was too late, and Elena's improvised stake plunged into his heart. Elena quickly tossed him behind the garage to deal with later, anxious to get to Damon. He still wasn't moving, and she turned him on his back so she could look him over. He was bleeding, but her worrying shut out any thirst she might have felt. She could hear his steady heartbeat, but it didn't make her any less scared.

"Damon?" She touched his cheek. "Damon, can you hear me? Open your eyes."

Behind her, she heard a door open.

"Elena? Is that you?" Matt was leaning out the backdoor, squinting into the dark parking lot.

"Matt!" Elena didn't know if this was a good thing. Noah was out of sight, though, and Damon needed help.

"What are you doing back here, are you alright? I heard a noise."

"It's Damon, he's not moving! Could you tell someone to call 911?"

Matt yelled at someone inside and ran over to where she was kneeling next to Damon. "What happened?"

"A motorcycle." Elena blurted, improvising. "Some guy on a motorcycle ran him over just when I arrived." She took Damon's hand.

"We should probably wait for the ambulance, I don't think moving him is a good idea." He rubbed her back comfortingly.

Elena was grateful for Matt's calmness, she herself was shaking. She nodded, and kept listening to Damon's even breathing.

It took the ambulance a few minutes, and by then some people had gathered around them. Elena saw two EMT's approach, and one of them asked her to move aside. She reluctantly let go of Damon's hand, and let them do their job. While one EMT, an older man with greying hair, checked Damon's pulse and injuries, a younger one took her to the side.

"Do you know what happened?" He asked.

Elena had a story prepared, and she hoped that they would assume Damon was delirious if he started babbling about weird eyes or vampires. "I saw a guy on a motorcycle run him over when I arrived here. I don't know what happened before that, but he seemed to be hurt already." If being hit by a motorcycle didn't cover all of Damon's injuries, at least she got that covered. She craned her neck, trying to see what was going on near the ambulance. It seemed like they had Damon strapped to a stretcher and were lifting him into the ambulance.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" Elena asked the EMT.

"My partner knows more than I do, but I think he's got a few smaller injuries and maybe some fractures. It looks worse because he's unconscious, we'll take care of him." He was turning away to get to the ambulance, leaving Elena behind.

"Wait! Can I come with him? Please?" Elena pleaded.

"Are you family?"

"I'm his girlfriend." The words came automatically, and she liked that. "My friend drove me here, I don't have my car."

The EMT opened the back of the ambulance for her and she got in quickly. The space in the back was tiny, and filled with medical equipment, but she found a place to sit beside Damon and took his hand again, watching the door shut.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked it! Is there anything I could do better? Please tell me! Don't forget: Reviews are love! :)<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: So! I finally got around to uploading chapter 6! It took a little bit longer than I expected, since I found it to be a bit boring and I tried to fix that, but I'm not sure if it worked. Anyway, A lot of talking in this chapter, there will be more action in chapter 7.**

**Oh, also: I've got some questions for you, so if you could read the AN at the end, that would be nice :).**

**thank you all for reading!**

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><p><strong>Elena POV<strong>

Damon woke up once during the ride. He squeezed Elena's hand and looked around in confusion. His breathing sped up, and when he kept trying to get up, one of the EMT's put him back to sleep. When they arrived at the hospital, she was told to wait while they took care of him.

The waiting room was almost empty, and she hated it. She'd been in the hospital a lot after the accident, and she was sick of it. She couldn't sit still, so she wandered through the halls and checked at the info desk every few minutes.

She worried about Noah's body, and decided to call Stefan for help. He answered his phone right after the first ring.

"Elena! Are you all right? I heard about what happened at the Grill."

"I'm fine, I'm at the hospital with Damon. I just need some help."

"Whatever you need. Do you know who rode that motorcycle?"

"Well, there's more to it than just a motorcycle."

"Oh." Stefan understood immediately. "Someone attacked him?"

"Do you remember Noah? He showed up again."

"Where is he now? What did he want?"

"He'd dead. And he said some crazy stuff about revenge. He mentioned you, did you know you and Damon are related?" Talking about what happened earlier made her mad again.

"We are?" Stefan asked her, sounding genuinely surprised. "What else did he say?"

"Not much, I didn't get it at all. He told me to ask you, but I'm not going to talk about that now. Can you get rid of his body? I dumped it behind one of the garages at the Grill."

"No problem. Have you called Caroline?"

"Not yet. Could you talk to her? Tell her Damon's going to be fine." Elena hadn't seen the two of them talk a lot, but she knew Caroline would worry about Damon.

"Sure, I'm on my way to the Grill now, bye."

"Thanks." Elena hung up and continued her pacing down the hall after letting Jenna know where she was.

After about an hour, a doctor approached her. He checked his papers before addressing her. "Damon Salvatore's girlfriend?"

Elena nodded.

"You can enter his room now, but he's still sleeping. He'll wake up in about half an hour."

"Is he alright?"

"He will be fine. He's got bruises and broken ribs, so all he has to do is rest."

"Did his uncle arrive yet?" Elena asked.

"He couldn't make it, he arranged everything over the phone. Come and get one of the nurses soon after he wakes up, okay? It's room thirty."

"Thank you." Elena said, and hurried down the hallway.

Elena hesitated outside the door. It was dark inside and she didn't want to wake Damon, but after worrying so much, she just needed to see if he was alright. She entered the room and silently closed the door behind her. She could see everything clearly, even though the curtains were drawn and the lights were out. There was a chair standing in a corner, but she ignored it and went to stand beside the bed. He was hooked onto an IV drip, but there was no beeping machine to show his heart rate, and Elena assumed that was a good thing. Damon was lying almost flat on his back with a sheet pulled up to his chin, and she could see that he was wearing one of those horrible hospital gowns. He didn't have any bruises on his face, so apart from being pale, he looked fine. She was so relieved it made her cry, and feeling very tired, she slumped down in the plastic chair.

Elena realized she'd fallen asleep when Damon's moans woke her up. She saw him try to push himself up on his elbows and slump back in surprise. His eyes darted across the room, trying to see something in the darkness. She rushed to his side and took his hand.

"Shh, Damon, stop moving." She whispered, gently pushing against his shoulder.

"Elena?" He asked, sounding hoarse. He gripped her hand tightly. "What's going on?"

"Do you remember what happened at the Grill?" She asked. "You were waiting for me."

Damon frowned. "I know. There was this guy." He seemed to be thinking hard. "He kept going on about something, I didn't understand. He was strong."

Elena reached behind her to pull the chair closer and sat down beside him without letting go of his hand. "Do you remember anything else?" She was stalling. She didn't want to tell him the truth anymore, not after what he'd seen. She wanted him to know that even though she was a vampire, that didn't mean anything. She wasn't evil, in fact she was far from it. She hadn't seen her own fangs or weird eyes in months. She was very good at controlling it, and she was proud of that. But with what Damon knew about Noah and Stefan, it could be hard to convince him.

"I think I blacked out." He started to get up again.

"Damon, stop trying that. You're in the hospital, you need to rest." Elena said, her voice catching. She guessed he wasn't fully awake yet, he was so confused she wanted to comfort him and hug him, but she was too afraid of hurting him.

"Could you tell me what's going on?" He asked in a small voice. He was squeezing her hand so tightly it almost hurt.

Elena recognized this from when Jeremy had needed surgery after breaking his wrist. He'd been just as confused as Damon, and he'd fallen asleep again almost immediately. He'd barely even remembered it when he'd woken up for the second time. She'd been twelve, and scared, but a nurse had told her that it was just a side effect of the drugs. When she remembered that, she relaxed and pulled her chair even closer to the bed.

"Just stay like this, okay? Don't try to move and I'll tell you everything. When you were waiting for me, something happened. It's something no one can know, so we're saying that a guy on a motorcycle ran you over. We called 911 and they drove you here. You woke up once, but you probably don't remember. They say you've got some bruises and broken ribs."

He nodded slowly.

"Does it hurt a lot?" She asked worriedly. She still didn't really know how badly he was hurt.

"I'm not sure. There's fog in my head, but I'll remember that part about the motorcycle." he closed his eyes.

"Good." she said, carefully pulling the sheets straight. "Do you think you'll sleep again?"

He mumbled something she couldn't understand and fell asleep.

Now that she knew Damon was going to be alright after some rest, she began to worry about something else. He'd been drugged just now, but what if he was in a lot of pain when he woke up? Even if he was hurting only a little, would she be able to stand that, if she knew she could help him? Just a little bit of her blood would at least make him heal faster.

She shook her head, she'd told herself that she wouldn't ever do that. Stefan had given her his blood, and look what had happened to her. At least he'd done it to save her life, that was an exception. If Damon had been dying in the parking lot, she probably would've done it without thinking of the consequences. But she'd focused on his heartbeat, which had been steady and strong at all times. Her head was starting to hurt, and she pushed the issue out of her mind. She went to tell a nurse that he had woken up but was sleeping again, and settled down again in her chair.

She didn't fall asleep this time, and she noticed when Damon started to move. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times. When she squeezed his hand, he jerked it away from her in surprise.

"It's just me, Damon. Do you want me to turn on the lights?" She asked softly.

"Oh. Sorry. No, leave them out, my head hurts."

Elena bit her lip. He wasn't complaining, just stating a fact, but she still didn't like hearing that he was hurting.

"Do you remember what I told you?"

"About the motorcycle? Yeah. Not very clearly, though." He frowned.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. It made her think about herself, she wasn't feeling very great. She needed some fresh air, and some blood. Being in the hospital had made her thirsty, which disgusted her.

He shrugged, then winced. "Not too great. Will you tell me what really happened?"

"Later, okay? I need to go tell the nurse that you've woken up." She said. She softly kissed him on the lips and left the room. She _did_ have to get a nurse, but mostly she just wanted to think about what to tell him. The problem was that she didn't even know what really happened. She couldn't tell him why Noah attacked him, because she had no idea. They'd have to work that out with Stefan later.

When Elena entered Damon's room again, the nurse had already turned on the lights and was busy adjusting his bed so that he was sitting up straighter. Elena quietly sat down in her chair while the nurse went over a list of questions with Damon.

When the nurse asked Damon to bare his chest, so she could change his bandages, Elena started to get up. She knew he'd been bleeding, and even though her control was great, she didn't want to take risks. Damon reached out and softly tugged at her wrist, his smile apologetic.

"Please?"

The nurse smiled at him as if she thought it was sweet.

Elena sat down again and smiled, squeezing his hand. She hadn't expected that he would need her, and something told her he'd asked her to stay because of something else. And there was no way she would leave if he wanted her to stay, whether it was for support or because there was something he needed to tell her when they were alone.

She looked away though, when he started bleeding. She could handle the bruises on his ribs, the nurse wrapped tape tightly around his torso and covered them up nicely, but some of his cuts opened again when she cleaned them. Elena looked away, trying to be casual about it. The smell was harder to ignore. Even when she breathed in through her mouth, she could almost taste it on her tongue. Deep, slow breaths did help to keep her eyes from vamping out.

She could feel Damon squeeze her hand sometimes, and because she hated that he was in pain, she made the mistake of looking at him. His lips were pressed together, his jaw clenched, but he didn't seem to be thinking about that. He was staring at her, his eyes hard and enquiring. He seemed to be looking _through_ her, desperately trying to understand something. It gave Elena a weird spidery feeling, and she glanced away quickly. When the nurse left them alone after a few minutes, Elena wanted to get away.

"I think I need to go." She said, moving towards the door, still not really looking at him.

"No, wait." Damon said urgently.

"I'm sorry, Damon, I promised Jenna I'd be home soon." She was already pushing the door open, mad at herself for leaving him like this.

He didn't answer, but right before the door closed, she could hear a soft "okay" coming from inside. He sounded so incredibly sad, and she couldn't make herself leave.

Slowly, she edged back into the room. When she saw his face, she could see that she'd hurt him by ignoring him. He wanted to know what had happened to him, and she'd promised him that she would tell him. He'd asked her to stay, though she wasn't sure why, and she'd just left.

"I'm sorry." She said, and her voice broke. She crossed the distance between her and the bed and took his hand. "I won't leave. I'll listen to you and I'll tell you everything you want to know."

"I need to tell you something first." He said, looking down at his sheets. "My parents were killed when I was a kid. I lived with my aunt after that, my niece took care of me, but they were killed too." He was talking quietly, then he looked up at Elena.

Elena wanted to cry. She knew his back story wasn't pretty, but did it have to be _this_? She was pretty sure she knew what had killed his parents, and she wanted to scream in frustration. With what he knew about Stefan and Noah, he already had enough reasons to have a negative image of vampires without them killing his parents, too.

"Why are you telling me this?" She whispered, choking the words out.

"Are you a demon, Elena?" He asked almost soundlessly.

This was _not_ how she'd planned on telling him. She shook her head, unable to make a sound.

"Then what are you? I don't know exactly what happened, but I remember these weird eyes, and that I wasn't strong enough, but _you_ _were_. And you could hold me back with one hand when we were talking to Stefan. And he _stabbed_ you! But you're fine! And then with the blood…" He was talking fast now, his breathing sped up and he had to stop and press one hand against his side.

"Stop. Please." She said. Partly because he was hurting himself by getting so worked up, and also because he was making it sound all wrong.

"Just tell me I'm not crazy. I'm not imagining things, right?" He asked.

"You're not crazy."

He nodded. "Will you tell me the truth, then?" he whispered.

She squeezed her eyes shut, just to be able to think for a few seconds, then looked at him and took a deep breath. "Damon, I think you family was killed by vampires."

He stared at her blankly, and she didn't know what that meant. She wished she could see what he was thinking.

"You're a vampire, too." He said, looking at her as if he were solving a difficult maths problem.

She drew in a shaky breath, fearing that he might want her to leave. She couldn't let him think that she would hurt someone. "You might have heard stories, about how we're evil, and that we're not human and things like that, and it _is_ like that sometimes, but I would never hurt anyone! I've never done anything wrong, I try so hard! And me and Caroline, we just get each other through this –" She was interrupted by her own shaky breathing.

She'd looked away from the moment she started talking, and she didn't want to look up and see if Damon's silence was a good or a bad thing. She heard the mattress move underneath him, and thought he was moving away from her, until she felt a soft pressure on her lips.

Her breath caught, she closed her eyes, and everything but the feeling of his lips on hers disappeared.

"I know." He said softly, his mouth brushing hers as he spoke. "I couldn't ever fear or hate you." He trailed his fingertips gently down her cheek. "Now relax and start from the beginning."

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><p><strong>AN: As I mentioned before, there are some things I want to ask you:<strong>

**Firstly, since Elena now needs to tell Damon about everything and "start from the beginning", do you guys want to read about that and see his reactions? Or do I just skip that part and start the next chapter with Damon knowing about everything? It's your choice :).**

**Secondly, since most of you are devoted Delena-people, would you mind if I threw in some more Caroline? maybe even a Caroline POV? I'm not sure if I'm even going to do this, but I wanted your opinion just in case :).**

**So, that's what I would like to know :). It would be nice to have at least some of your opinions, so please review! And of course, if there's anything you _really_ want to see happening, or something you thought could be better, you know you can always tell me that too.**

**Thank you so much for reading, and I'm sorry for the annoyingly long AN.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Thank you all so much for your reviews! You didn't make it any easier to decide, though. Half of you wanted me to skip Elena's explanation to Damon, the other half wanted me to write about it. I tried to make everyone happy by writing about it, but not _too_ much. At least I hope it's not boring.**

_Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. If I did, it would be on every day, not every week._

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><p>"<em>I know." He said softly, his mouth brushing hers as he spoke. "I couldn't ever fear or hate you." He trailed his fingertips gently down her cheek. "Now relax and start from the beginning."<em>

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><p><strong>Damon POV<strong>

Damon kissed Elena again softly, to show her that he meant what he said, and then managed to move to one side of the bed without hurting himself too much.

"Sit down." He said, tugging at her wrist.

She took a deep breath and seemed to pull herself together, smiling weakly at him. "I'm not the one who should be breaking down." She said, her voice catching, and then carefully sat down on the edge of the mattress.

Damon was a bit annoyed at the situation. He really wanted to put his arms around her and comfort her, but it wasn't easy to move and he could barely sit up straight. Elena didn't seem to notice, though. She kicked off her shoes and lay down beside him, barely rumpling the sheets and careful not to touch him. She turned to her side and propped herself up on one elbow. He was staring at the ceiling, but he knew she was watching him.

"Tell me what you already know." She said. She reached over and combed her fingers through his hair. It calmed him and he closed his eyes for a moment.

"I know you are strong." He said, thinking about how she'd held him back with just one hand. "And you heal fast." He continued hesitantly. He wasn't sure about what he'd seen that first night.

"You're talking about the first time you saw me." She guessed, and he nodded.

"What happened?"

She didn't answer right away. "I'll tell you, but don't get worked up, okay? Not until I've told you everything."

"I promise." He said.

Damon didn't like what she told him. It was hard for him to think about Elena being hurt in any way, and definitely if it was because of Stefan. What kind of person stakes someone just like that? But he'd promised he wouldn't get worked up about it, so he didn't say anything.

"Do live on animals?" Damon asked, though he didn't think she did.

"No." She said softly, sounding ashamed.

"I don't mean it like that." He said quickly, not wanting to hurt her. "I'm not judging you. I just wondered why."

"It makes you weaker. I wouldn't have been able to save you at the Grill."

"What else can you do?" Damon asked. He didn't want to think about Elena being hurt or Elena having to save him at the Grill. It made him feel a little pathetic.

"We're faster, and we can see, smell and hear better." Elena said, as if reading of a list.

"Then why didn't you hear me coming? You looked so surprised when you saw me looking at you in the alley." He remembered everything about that night very clearly, and every time he thought about it, he saw Elena hurt and curled up against the wall again.

"I know. There's a herb called vervain. It keeps a vampire from messing with your mind, and it's toxic. Stefan tried to inject me with it, and a little of it got into my body." She said uncomfortably.

Damon's body tensed. For some reason, this seemed worse to him than stabbing her. Injecting her with something toxic? Who would do that?

"Why? That's not just losing control, he would've had that needle on him and ready to use. Why did he do that?" It wasn't easy to lie still while being angry, and Elena gently held his shoulder down against the bed.

"He thought I was someone else, let's just leave it at that. It has nothing to do with us."

Damon sighed, which made his ribs ache. "Fine."

Next to him, Elena relaxed again.

They were interrupted when the nurse that had bandaged him came in again to check on him.

"Shouldn't you be home by now?" she asked Elena, one eyebrow raised. "It's after midnight!"

"I told my parents I would stay here. That's allowed, right?" Elena asked, looking sad and innocent.

"It's allowed if you let the patients rest, and if you don't take up half of their bed." The nurse said, gesturing at the bed. "You can get one of the bigger folding chairs in the hallway, they make awful beds, but it's better than that plastic thing you got there."

Elena pushed herself upright and pulled the sheets straight. Damon carefully moved back to the middle.

His sides were throbbing, and he knew he needed sleep, but he wanted to know more. Elena was frowning at him, here eyes worried.

The nurse gave him some water and a small pill, and then injected something into his IV. "To help you sleep." she said kindly, then she adjusted his bed so that he was lying flat on his back and left the room.

Damon wished she'd told him that before she gave it to him, but Elena was smiling.

"You would've stayed up all night." she said, sitting down again on the plastic chair.

He sighed. "Will you talk to me until I fall asleep? I'll remember." He said, taking her hand.

"What else do you want to know?" She asked.

"What happens when you feed? Do you have fangs? How did you become a vampire? What happened at the Grill?-"

"I think you'll black out before I have all of those answered." She laughed, interrupting his list.

"Just start with the first one." He answered. He could feel the drowsiness coming on, but it would take some time to actually fall asleep.

"I do have fangs." Elena said, making a face. "And my eyes go all veiny. It's awful."

He looked at her expectantly.

"You can't see it." She shook her head. "Sometime, maybe, but not now, not while you're smelling of blood."

She moved on to the next question then, and after a while, her voice became a soft hum and his eyes closed.

He dreamed about Elena in a car with Stefan. Elena barely breathing, and Stefan calling out her name. Elena waking up confused and falling down the stairs. Caroline wasn't in his dreams, and he realized he didn't know how she was turned. Faces swarmed around in his head, his family, and he really wanted to wake up now, but sleep was pulling him in deeper.

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><p><strong>Elena POV<strong>

Elena watched his eyes close and squeezed his hand. She felt much lighter after telling him everything, and smiled. They'd agreed on asking Stefan more about Noah, but she knew Damon wasn't very happy about that.

She stayed with him that night, squeezing his hand when he stirred. He seemed to have nightmares, and at first she feared that he was dreaming about her, but every time she whispered to him or stroked his face, he calmed down.

The next day, doctors came to see him twice, and Elena felt her control waver had to leave the room. She didn't like compelling humans, but sometimes she just had to. She made a doctor give her a blood bag and fed on it before heading back to Damon.

Two days later, Damon could leave the hospital if he promised to rest and his uncle picked him up. Elena rode with them and helped Damon get to his room. It was a boring room. The walls were painted a light gray and the only furniture was a bed, a closet and a desk.

Damon shrugged when she mentioned it. "We move around a lot."

She propped up his pillows so that he could sit upright and got a chair from the adjoining room.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him when he was settled.

"I'm fine." he said, rolling his eyes.

She had to admit that she'd asked that question a lot during the past few days. "Let me see."

He sighed.

She pulled his shirt up on one side and looked at his bruised skin. blue and purple spots covered his torso, the cuts were almost gone. It was getting better, but she still didn't like it. She kept telling herself that she would kill Noah for doing this, always forgetting that she already did. She wished she'd made him suffer longer, but she wouldn't have been able to do that anyway. She wasn't that kind of person.

"Are you done staring at me?" Damon asked jokingly.

Elena focused on the present and laughed. He'd shown her his vulnerable side that first night in the hospital, and she'd liked that, but she knew he didn't. Being hurt had made him feel weak, especially after she told him she was so much stronger, but he'd needed her. It was so different from what she'd had with Stefan, and it felt good. She and Damon both needed each other.

Damon knew everything now, except Caroline's story. Elena had told him Caroline needed to tell that herself, and she knew he was going to ask her about it. He couldn't stand not knowing anything, she'd realized that from the moment she met him. That was why he was so mad about what happened at the Grill. They hadn't been able to talk about why it happened with Stefan, and Damon wanted to know _now_.

"I need to go now," Elena said, giving Damon another blanket, "but I'll come back after school, okay?"

"Elena," He held on to her wrist when she started to leave. "You do know you don't have to baby-sit me, right?" She could see in his eyes that this was the softer Damon, the one who needed her, and she didn't know what he meant.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"I mean, you're here because you care about me right?"

"Right."

"And you'll care about me when this is all over? When I don't need caring anymore?"

"Of course." She said, disbelievingly. "Damon, I'm here because of _you_. Not because I need someone to fuss over or because I feel sorry for you, I'm here because I _love_ you."

He stared at her but didn't answer.

"You got that?" She asked.

"Yes." The corners of his mouth tilted up.

"Good." She said firmly, and kissed him softly, careful not to hurt him. "Now make sure you rest because I can't be careful with you forever." She laughed and left his room.

* * *

><p>She arrived a little late at school, but managed to sneak past the office and into class before everyone had taken a seat. When she saw Caroline, she made her way over and pulled her to the side.<p>

"Elena! I didn't think you'd be here today, how's Damon doing?" They hadn't talked a lot over the weekend, but Caroline had stopped by once to see him.

"He's getting better, he left the hospital this morning. Is Stefan okay?"

Caroline nodded. "He's back on the bunny diet, I'm hoping it stays that way."

"You're a good friend, Caroline." Elena said.

"He is, too." She shrugged. "Most of the time." She added quickly.

In front, the teacher was telling everyone to sit down and get their books.

"Oh, Elena, Stefan told me to ask you if he could talk to Damon tonight. He's got news about Noah."

"It'll have to be at Damon's house, he can't move around too much. I'll ask him." Elena said, and headed towards her desk.

Oddly, because she'd been so busy worrying about Damon, she'd forgotten about Noah's motives. She'd cursed the guy for attacking Damon, but hadn't thought about _why_ he'd done it after that first night. Now that Stefan knew more, she couldn't wait to find out what it was. Another thing she was curious about, but Damon hadn't mentioned twice, was the fact that Damon and Stefan were related. It had to be some distant connection, since Stefan didn't know about it, but it struck her as a weird thing. At least Stefan was okay again, and Damon would be okay soon. And tonight, she would be with her boyfriend -who got beaten up- and ex-boyfriend -who kind of stabbed her-, who were _related_, in one room. As if she hadn't yet had enough drama to last a lifetime.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you liked it! Tell me what you think about this chapter, pretty please! :) What did you like most? (or what could be better?)<strong>

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: It's been way too long since I updated, I know, but I hope you're still interested in the story.**

**Since it's been such a long time, here's a short recap of what happened so far:**

_Damon's a human who moved to Mystic Falls with his distant uncle, his family was killed in a vampire attack years ago. Elena, Stefan and Caroline are vampires. Damon was attacked by a vampire called Noah, but Elena saved him and killed Noah. The gang now has to figure out why Noah was after Damon, which is what they're doing in this chapter._

**I don't have a beta, so I'm sorry if you find any spelling or continuity mistakes.**

**I hope you like it!**

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><p><strong>Elena POV<strong>

That night at around six, Stefan, Damon and Elena were sitting in Damon's bedroom, waiting for Caroline. Stefan was talking to her on the phone, assuring her that they wouldn't start talking about anything until she got there.

"Which committee is it this time?" Elena rolled her eyes as Stefan slipped his phone into the pocket of his jeans.

"A yearbook thing. The photographer messed up or something." Stefan shrugged.

Elena sighed. It wasn't that they couldn't start without Caroline, she didn't even have anything to do with the whole situation, but feeling left out was something she didn't handle very well.

Damon was sitting up against his headboard. Elena had helped him clean the wounds on his back before Stefan got there and he was feeling much better already, as long as he didn't move around too much. He was being very quiet, but Elena knew he was dying to know more about his family and getting a bit annoyed because of the delay.

She was glad when she heard Caroline's car drive up in front of the house, the awkward silence in the room was almost too much to bear.

"You can come straight up, first door on the left." Damon spoke up, knowing Caroline would hear him from where she waited at the front door, and Elena marveled at how quickly he'd accepted everything to do with vampires. She'd given him a crash course on his way home from the hospital, and he was already using it to his advantage.

Caroline was upstairs in no time and flopped down on Damon's bed, making herself at home and causing him to bounce a little.

"I'm so , so sorry I'm late. It was just this really big mess and everything ran late and-" She groaned. "And that's not even counting the trouble I've had with keeping your pictures from being printed. I really think you're overdoing it with the paranoia. Thanks for waiting, though."

Stefan had insisted that Caroline made sure he wasn't in any of the pictures, seeing as it could raise suspicion later on if people recognized him. Elena had followed Stefan's opinion, just in case, but Caroline stubbornly refused. She reasoned that on the off chance anyone would see her picture in a hundred years, they would chalk it up to an uncanny resemblance to an ancestor. There was absolutely no way Caroline Forbes, head of nearly every committee and probable prom queen, wasn't going to be pictured in the yearbook.

"Now that we're all here," Damon teasingly narrowed his eyes at Caroline, "maybe we can get on with it?"

"Right!" Stefan ran a hand through his hair. "I've done some digging and I think that for the most part, I've figured out why Noah attacked Damon. There are some gaps I haven't been able to fill in though, so I hope Damon can help with that."

Damon shook his head in surprise. "I don't know anything, I have no clue who this Noah guy is." He shrugged.

"You may know more than you think." Stefan said. "Noah was head of a large group of vampires, you could call them a family in a certain way. Wherever they settle, lots of murder and disappearances occur."

"Stefan fought him to keep him from settling in Mystic Falls." Caroline added.

"What does this have to do with me?" Damon asked. "How do they know who I am?"

"I can explain the first part, you'll have to help me find an answer to the second." Stefan sighed. "This has everything to do with you because you are a Salvatore, and the Salvatores have been vampire hunters for centuries."

Stefan seemed to pause so Damon could take this new information in, but apparently it wasn't necessary. Elena watched Damon nod thoughtfully.

"I guess I should've figured that out by now." He mumbled. "I knew they were guarding a secret and talking about demons, I just never found out exactly what that meant."

Elena felt bad for him. He was probably too young to be involved when his family was attacked, and afterwards there was no one left to tell him about it.

"Even when I was human, the vampire clan Noah was part of was a big problem, and our family was already trying to take them out. The Salvatores were good hunters and they kept doing their best up until the end, but vampires can make new vampires faster than humans can raise new hunters." Stefan looked pointedly at Damon and Elena realized what he meant. Damon's expression was blank, and Elena sat down next to him, hoping she could somehow make him feel better.

Damon swallowed. "So what you're saying is, my family was fighting the same vampires your family fought decades ago. I was supposed to help them when they decided I was old enough, but they never got the chance because they died in the vampire attack." His voice was distant and Elena grasped his hand, intertwining her fingers with his.

Stefan nodded. "I guess Noah wants to make sure there is no human Salvatore left, but what I don't understand is how they found you."

Damon shrugged. "They probably just found out about my uncle taking me in. He's not a Salvatore, but he's not that far of a connection either."

"No, that's the thing Damon," Stefan's voice sounded strange, and Elena looked up from her and Damon's hands to see his face. "Your uncle isn't listed as a guardian. You-" Stefan ran a hand through his hair, obviously searching for the right words. "Damon, you've been legally dead for seven years."

Caroline was the first to recover. She'd been sitting on the floor and staring at the ceiling, her head resting against Damon's bed frame, but now she shot upright. "What? I think my vampire hearing failed me because I could've sworn you just said Damon was dead."

"How is that possible?" Damon asked skeptically. "Would being friends with the sheriff get you that far?"

"If the sheriff knew about vampires, it definitely would." Caroline said. "You wouldn't believe the things my mom has done to keep her deputies out of trouble."

"So that's why they didn't come after me when I escaped the attack, they didn't know there was anyone left." Damon said softly.

"But they did find him here, and they knew who he was." Elena remembered how Noah had been absolutely sure of who he was dealing with. She turned to face Damon. "Is there anyone else who knew your family? Who might know your history?"

Damon shook his head. "I never told anyone, and my mother broke contact with her family so my uncle has no idea. There's no one else."

Stefan was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Maybe not everyone was killed in the attack. Maybe someone talked about you to one of them."

"I don't think it would take them six years to find Damon if they knew about him from the beginning." Caroline shook her head. "We must be missing something."

"You're right. There's a piece of the puzzle we don't have, and Noah does." Stefan had a determined look on his face. "I know where he and his lot are staying. It can't be hard to find out more."

Elena wanted to offer to go with him, but she realized she'd rather stay with Damon. After everything he'd just learned about his family, she wanted to be there for him if he had any questions.

Caroline met Elena's eyes and winked, immediately guessing her thoughts. "I'll come with you." She told Stefan, getting up and heading for the door. "We'll be back here at nine."

Stefan hesitated for a moment but then followed Caroline out of the room, realizing that Elena and Damon wanted some time to talk.

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><p>Elena sighed when they were alone and turned to Damon, who was grinning at her. She frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"<p>

He shrugged. "you look cute when you're worried about me." He pulled her closer. "But you worry too much. You don't need to be so careful. I'm not made of glass."

Elena rolled her eyes. "You just came home from the hospital."

"But I can handle it."

"Okay.." Elena said slowly, studying his face to make sure he wasn't pretending. "But that was a lot to take in, right? Are you sure you're okay."

"I am. I'm a little pissed that if someone –apart from me –did escape the attack, they haven't talked to me even once. Never explained anything. And there's something weird about knowing I'm legally dead. Like, I don't get how my uncle has been able to enroll me in school. I mean, they check those things, right?" Damon was frowning as he spoke, but he really did seem to be okay.

"Well," Elena snuggled closer to him, "I think you'd be surprised at how many people know about vampires. The town's council for example, the sheriff, the mayor, … Your uncle might know there's something strange going on with your paperwork. He might know where to find people to help him."

"Hmm." Damon sounded skeptical and a little bitter. "I don't think he'd go through that much trouble."

"Wouldn't it be nice, though, to know that there's still someone out there? That you're not the only who survived? They must've had a good reason to stay away."

"It would." Damon mused. "But I'm not getting my hopes up."

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><p><strong>Caroline POV<strong>

It hadn't taken Stefan long to find the old apartment building Noah had claimed, but the place was swarming with vampires. He and Caroline were huddled together behind a corner, close enough to watch everyone but not able to hear conversations.

If she'd still had a heartbeat, Caroline knew it would've been hammering like crazy. She wasn't scared though, just excited and nervous.

"I feel like we're in a spy film." Caroline whispered.

Stefan rolled his eyes at her but couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm. "Just remember to be careful. They won't hesitate to kill you if they get the chance."

"I know, I know." Caroline waved away his concerns. She knew not to get too close, she and Stefan had come up with a better plan. They would wait until one of Noah's minions went off on his own to feed and follow him.

It didn't take long before a young, scruffy looking man left the building and headed for a narrow, dark alley. Stefan nodded in his direction, but Caroline was already on her feet. They quickly agreed to sneak up on the vampire from two sides and then surprise him.

Caroline followed him into the alley, keeping a safe distance and not making a sound. It was a good thing that, for once, she wasn't wearing high heels. They would've clacked on the wet stones and given her away immediately. Stefan had to round the building they'd been hiding behind and enter the alley from the other side, which meant that she wouldn't be able to see him until they had closed in on Noah's assistant.

When the guy in front of her slowed down, Caroline knew he'd heard either her or Stefan. He crouched and backed up against the wall, looking from left to right. Okay, so he'd heard both of them.

Caroline saw Stefan move away from the shadows and knew she had to act. Surprising the young man who'd vamped out in defense, she placed her hand against his throat and crushed him to the slick stone wall. Stefan was by her side immediately and shoved a wooden stick into the grubby vampire's stomach.

Caroline might've felt sorry for him, but she was able to smell the fresh blood of at least three different humans on his breath. A tacky golden necklace around his throat told her his name was Mike.

"Hello Mike. Would you be interested in helping us out a little?" She flashed him a cold smile.

Mike coughed and groaned, gripping at his stomach.

"How did Noah find out about the Salvatore boy?" Stefan snarled, ready to twist the stick he was still pressing into Mike's flesh.

"I don't know anything! Noah doesn't tell me anything, I'm low ranked!" Mike spluttered.

Caroline felt a flicker of disappointment, not having considered that possibility, but Stefan shook his head and twisted the branch.

Mike howled and squirmed, but Caroline snapped his wrist, trusting Stefan's judgment.

"You were with Noah when I ran into him seventy years ago, so don't tell me you're stupid enough to still be low ranked." Stefan growled. "What do you know?"

"He'll kill me when he finds out I told you anything." Mike shook his head.

"Noah's already dead. If you don't tell us, _we'll_ kill you." Caroline hissed, "And we won't do it here and quickly. We'll break your neck and take you with us." She brought her mouth to his neck and bit down hard on his flesh, then turned her head away to spit out his blood.

She was still a little new at being a vampire, especially compared to Mike, who had seventy years on her, but he didn't need to know that. She knew that being bitten against your will by another vampire was degrading, used by leaders to put younger vampires in their place, and she hoped Mike wouldn't see through her bluff.

He didn't seem to, but he was definitely enraged and seemed a little busy processing what Caroline had just told him. "You killed him?" He snarled and struggled against Stefan's hold. It didn't do him much good, since he was just impaling himself even further on the branch in his stomach.

"Answer our question." Caroline hissed, giving his wrist another twist.

Mike slumped against the wall defeatedly. "Fine! We found the kid through his niece. Turned her back in the day but she got away. Caught her a few months ago but only just now got her to talk. You happy?" He spit at Stefan.

Caroline wasn't sure if she understood entirely, but Stefan clearly did. He angled the branch toward Mike's heart. "Where's she being held?"

Mike laughed bitterly. "Gotta ask Noah about that. He's the only one who knew where he kept her. Too bad you killed him."

Before Caroline realized what was happening, Stefan plunged the branch into Mike's heart. "Very helpful." He told the corpse, and gave it a kick.

Caroline was stunned. "But what if he knew more?"

"He didn't. It makes sense for Noah not to tell anyone. This one had to die anyway or he would've come after us, especially after your little trick." Stefan raised an eyebrow.

"Well… It worked, didn't it?" Caroline said lightly. She wiped his blood off her lips and shrugged.

"It definitely did." Stefan said, shaking his head in wonder.

* * *

><p>"So what exactly do we know now?" Caroline asked while she and Stefan were on their way back.<p>

"We were right. One of Damon's family members survived and told Noah about him."

Caroline nodded. "His niece. They turned her during the attack on the Salvatores."

"I guess." Stefan said. "They must've force-fed her vampire blood and then killed her. When they came back to find her after killing off everyone else, she'd escaped."

Caroline shuddered. "Poor thing. We need to find her soon." They couldn't leave her in the hands of Noah. But first they needed to tell Damon what they'd learned. Caroline didn't know which of those would be the hardest, though he might be happy to hear that his niece was still somewhat alive.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for sticking with me if you did! I promise there will be more Delena in the next chapter. <strong>

**Please review and tell me your thoughts :)**


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